One of the things that this review cannot say is how exactly MSI Claw 8 AI+ improves the original claw, for the basic reason why MSI themselves separated from the latter before I had the opportunity to try. Three three months before it was announced. Three months! And people say OLED’s steam deck came too early.
The good news is that usually the internal renovation Claw 8 AI+-Nowa processor, recent graphic processor, thicker battery, etc.-made a conveyor that not only throws the improved Valve steam deck in the field of games, but is there with the best based on Windows Brethren-Portals on long-term. You know what is probably better than a claw. Yes.
Despite this, Claw 8 AI+ will not match everyone, especially a diminutive glove. In the middle with a width of 299 mm and 24 mm bulky, it is much more copious manual than any steam deck, and at 795g it is almost as ponderous as the Legion Lenovo band. It is also an costly investment for the market, which is becoming more and more filled with costly investments, a terrifying price of 899 GBP / 900 USD, even those from Legion GO, Asus Rog Ally X and Zotac Zone. And once again you don’t even get a matter.
Why endure all this mass and/or huge financial damage? First of all, because in the fact that a mighty shell lies one very enthusiastic heartbeat. MSI was stuck in the experiment in the operate of Intel chips instead of the current manual PC-Standard AMD APU, in particular the ARC 140V AI+AI+GPUs pays off. Even starting games at Native 1200P, repeatedly ahead of a steam deck with a confined 800P and either hits or (more or less) fits other high -class Windows machines, such as ROG Ally X and Zotac zone.
Claw 8 AI+ also avoids the traps that the Legion goes, blinded by striving for impressive sounding specifications, falling into: his screen is not miserable to its performance. Instead of exceeding with excessively high resolution that its internal could not properly operate, the Claw 8 AI+, 1920×1200 panel, nothing was wasting, with pleasant 45-60 FPS clearly possible in numerous 3D tariffs, AAA. A decrease to 1280×800 (or simply playing in less demanding games, of which thousands are available) can also easily see Framerates high above 60 frames per second, where you can operate the 120 Hz refresh rate.
Claw 8 AI+ All. The Monster Hunter Wilds comparative tool returned a modest 27 frames per second, at minimum settings and ultra at the FSR performance level. However, he explains the steam deck, serving games that are not completely feasible in Valve’s hands. For example, Space Marine II cannot get to a stable 30 frames per second on board, but I got 30-40 frames per second on Claw 8 AI+ with low quality and FSR in legible performance mode. Similarly, Horizon forbidding the West needs an ultra performance upscaling to even approach the game on board, but here rarely fell below 30 frames per second with FSR in its sharper quality setting.
The huge section of the rear ventilation holes helps to make sure that this zeal is not transformed into regular balmy, and although the fans are not as whispered as the OLED steam deck, thunderous Pazura 8 AI+speakers can easily drown them out. Anyway at home. Bluetooth and a 3.5 mm socket connect the options of headphones, which I recommend as an alternative to being stomping to death by annoying people commuting to work.
Certainly you would have a lot of time to inflict eardrum for other passengers, because the massive battery 80WHR Claw 8 AI+-Z 53WHR on the original claw-will be one of the longest portable computers in the industry. Not entirely to the scope of OLED steam deck, which caused that some clever performance improvements have become seemingly insurmountable in games with a low demand: 3H 22M CLAW 8 AI+W Portal 2 is great according to Windows standards, as well as not near 5h 48m. But then 2h 13m MSI in Elden is just one minute from 2h 14m of waist, which is the opportunity to catch up with more thirsty games.
Among the rivals in the windows, the only one that can stand 8 AI+ on endurance is ROG Ally X, and this was not on portal 2 from 2h 59m. The ASUS device covered a narrow advantage in Forza Horizon 5, lasting 2h 55m to 2h 52 m claw 8 AI+, although given that the latter has a larger, affluent screen affluent in pixel, I would still say that it puts more powerful battery performance.
The screen itself is also not half bad, covering a 99.1% range of SRGB colors and achieving a contrast factor of 1412: 1-which is a speaking for affluent colors and deep black. For this money, however, it is a bit scanty to get only the LCD/IPS panel, not an OLED display, such as an updated steam zone or zotac zone. In addition to being thinner and more productive, excellent features for a portable computer, these OLED screens produce infinite Contrast and brightness that reach the peak of over 900CD/m2 in HDR compatible games. Claw 8 AI+ does not have this HDR support when its brightness at the top 521CD/m2, which is not even higher than on the original LCD steam deck. You would probably need most of these rivets, in any case as a defense against the reflection of the shiny Pazura 8 AI+screen; Antiplic finish is another steam deck profit, which is missing in this model.
This strange mixture of high -class high -class specifications and foundation is repeatedly evident in the Claw 8 AI+project. You get a few subtleties, such as double USB-C up next to the MICROSD upper installed socket, as well as a fingerprint sensor built into the power button. But then it is also covered with cheaper plastic, with smaller, less robust cans than those more affordable OLED. There is not a single track who will lend a hand you navigate the very affable Windows 11 touch screen, and I personally do not click with moisture, staff, dour, greenish-chronic colors, which looks as if MSI has just attacked a cabinet for storing paint from an unprecedented laater factory.
This is not a huge problem – unless you are more a fan – but there will be difficulties in the lease of windows. Yes, Windows 11 is still lost and confused on the conveyor, as at the first Rog Ally. He says that the continuous notification related to the poisoning of his shrinking user interface actually represents one of his smaller headaches, because the operating system always seems more susceptible to mistakes on these portable computers than on desktop computers, and the 8 AI+ claw is unfortunately not an exception. In addition to similar problems with the random size of the application system, as I had in the zotac zone, one particularly annoying input error saw the button and stop registration in Steam, forcing me to the touch screen.
MSI tried to add a few comforts specific to manual, in the form of a handy menu of brisk overlays and its M Center M game launchers, although none of them changes in Windows fortunes. The settings cover sometimes appears only after a few seconds of delay, and the interface on the side of Launcher only fits only on the screen, so I almost never used it. As with any manual Windows system, you get a wider range of native -operated game launchers than on Steamos, although taking into account that most of them can be installed on board with Lutris, it is less than it seems.
Such blemishes, just a good display, and a uninteresting design means that MSI Claw 8 AI+cannot be excited. Especially when the highest class functions can be expected for 900 vast ones. Still, it’s not like it is some baubles. In fact, it is the strongest (medium) manual computer among peers, and unlike, like the Zotac zone, it does not violate the battery life to get there.
According to these indicators, I am forced to say that they are more vital than whether it looks like a Soviet sedan-maritime MSI 8 AI+ is not only a necessary amendment to the first generation condemned to the claw. It is a good, mighty conveyor in itself, and the performance and practicality it brings is worth adding to the constantly growing portable scene.
This review is based on the review unit provided by the manufacturer.
